UAB Eglės sanatorija –Lithuania emerged as the winner in the Innovative Medical Spa category at the ESPA Innovation Awards 2023, owing to its groundbreaking mobile app designed for the mutual benefit of patients and the clinic. The app facilitates seamless self-registration upon arrival, providing patients with instant access to their schedules and any potential changes related to treatments or other services via their smartphones.

We reached out to Mr. Artūras Salda, the CEO of Eglės sanatorija and asked him a few questions.

Could you briefly present the idea and advantages of the Digital world app?

In today’s fast-paced world, technological advancements have become an integral part of our daily lives. We, as a healthcare establishment, understand the importance of keeping pace with this digital revolution. That’s why we’ve developed the App—that aims to redefine your Medical SPA experience and bring convenience, efficiency, and enhanced communication to the forefront.

Our mobile app was conceived as an innovative alternative to traditional paper treatment cards. We recognized that the ubiquity of smart devices in today’s society demanded a shift toward embracing this modern approach. Benefits it provides to our guest:

Timely Reminders: We’ve all experienced moments when we forget about our scheduled treatments or arrive late for appointments. The App addresses this by offering a reminder feature. Our users can set up notifications for their treatment schedules, ensuring they never miss an appointment again.

Flexible Treatment Schedule Management: With our app, you guests can effortlessly request changes to their treatment schedule without the hassle of standing in queues at the reception desk. Whether they prefer to send a request via the app or make a quick phone call, your treatment schedule can be adjusted in a matter of moments.

Instant Feedback and Support: The App fosters a real-time connection between our clients and our personell whose top priority is to give the best service possible. Instant feedback on treatments empowers clients to share their thoughts and motivates our team, fostering a more client-centric and responsive healthcare experience.. Moreover, it empowers us to respond promptly to any concerns or issues, ensuring that you receive the highest quality of care.

From your perspective, what do you believe is the primary factor that led jury to honor you the award for the most innovative medical spa?

From my perspective, the primary factor that led the jury to honor us with the award for the most innovative medical spa is our unwavering commitment to client-centric innovation. The foundation of our success lies in our deep understanding of our clients’ needs and our relentless pursuit of addressing them.

Our team recognized the evolving landscape of healthcare field and the critical role technology plays in our lives. This realization led us to create the App, a solution that seamlessly integrates with the modern lifestyle of our guest.

What does receiving of the ESPA Innovation Award mean for your team?

The recognition of our App with the ESPA Innovation Award is a momentous milestone for our team. It’s an honor we genuinely didn’t expect but one that propels us with even greater determination to continue our pursuit of excellence.

This award serves as a validation of the hard work and dedication that our team has poured into creating the App. It reinforces our belief that we are on the right path, and it motivates us to push our boundaries further, making continuous improvements to the app. We are committed to staying at the forefront of innovation.

However, the most significant award for us is the increasing number of users who have embraced the App as an integral part of their medical spa experience. Their trust and support inspire us to keep innovating, improving, and delivering on our promise to provide the best possible service to our clients.

How do you see the future of the Spa & Health tourism in Europe and in your country? Where do you see place for improvement and innovations?

I see a bright future. Life expectancy has been growing faster than expected healthy life years, therefore more and more people will look for opportunities to prolong their quality life. Spa&Health tourism provide exactly that. I believe the governments in Lithuania and other countries will recognize the value that our industry brings to the health of the society and will invest more into this.

In terms of innovations, our industry is a really interesting case because it combines the deep and long tradition of using natural remedies with latest technological advancement. I believe there will be more innovation in the use of AI to provide even more tailored and individualized treatment programmes. Technological advancement will bring us new equipment that we use for eletrotherapy, magnetotherapy, etc. Gamification is a big trend in our industry – people of all ages are more keen to actively participate in treatments when there is some element of gamification there, and there already is some nice modern equipment that does exactly that. I expect much more is to follow in the near future.

What are the Egles Sanatorija’s plans for the future?

We will continue to invest into the modern and innovative equipment in order to provide cutting-edge services for our customers. We have big plans for renewing our facilities in Druskininkai. We are also keeping and eye towards other European countries in case there are some opportunities to expand our presence and bring our 50+ year experience to new markets.